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Official Russian Election Interference Thread

President elect in bed with foreign power that wants to undermine our democracy. NBD #eatloadcommie
 
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This is a guy who understands what it means to #SupportOURPresident ! They key phrase to keep in mind over the next 8 years is "Why it matter?"

I am still confused about how Russia wanting Trump to be president is any reflection on him. If Iran wanted Hillary to be president would that reflect on her (I think it is a fairly safe assumption that they would rather have Hillary than Trump). If he was involved in influencing the election from outside the democratic process by leaking intel or providing avenues through which the Russian government could hack the DNC and personal emails then that would reflect on him. Outside of his direct involvement this is a Russia issue (and it seems pretty clear they were involved).

So then it becomes a President Trump issue, not an electoral college issue. Assuming this investigation continues to go down the path it has started, then Trump is going to have to make decisions on how to appropriately respond. If he does not respond appropriately then I will join the bandwagon. My guess is that he will NOT respond appropriately once president,but this isn't an election issue. It is a policy issue (unless Trump actually participated in the influencing scheme - if he did participate then it absolutely is an electoral college issue).

So I am good with the investigation and hope we are thorough. There is plenty of smoke. I would like to see the facts.
 
I am still confused about how Russia wanting Trump to be president is any reflection on him. If Iran wanted Hillary to be president would that reflect on her (I think it is a fairly safe assumption that they would rather have Hillary than Trump). If he was involved in influencing the election from outside the democratic process by leaking intel or providing avenues through which the Russian government could hack the DNC and personal emails then that would reflect on him. Outside of his direct involvement this is a Russia issue (and it seems pretty clear they were involved).

So then it becomes a President Trump issue, not an electoral college issue. Assuming this investigation continues to go down the path it has started, then Trump is going to have to make decisions on how to appropriately respond. If he does not respond appropriately then I will join the bandwagon. My guess is that he will NOT respond appropriately once president,but this isn't an election issue. It is a policy issue (unless Trump actually participated in the influencing scheme - if he did participate then it absolutely is an electoral college issue).

So I am good with the investigation and hope we are thorough. There is plenty of smoke. I would like to see the facts.

You do realize that Russia and Iran aren't exactly adversarial, right? But really, why it matter?
 
Because Trump won? I recall a ton of public support among government officials worldwide for HRC, either via outright endorsement or Trump-bashing, and yet we aren't crying about their influence in the election. I wonder why?

Again, unless there is evidence of vote-rigging, this is a total non-story. The fake news element of this is demonstrable bullshit as that stuff cuts both ways. I saw a ton of non-vetted, bogus stories about Trump on my FB feed in the lead-up to the election.

As near as I can tell, Trump's biggest thing with the Russians is the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" adage. He wants to bomb the shit out of ISIS with them, basically. Our approach with Assad has kept us from uniting in that regard. It is not the end of the world to second-guess the efficiency of that strategy.

His finances are another story and he needs to be more transparent in that regard.

This seems incredibly myopic. You think the only way to influence foreign elections is through outright vote-rigging?
 
I am still confused about how Russia wanting Trump to be president is any reflection on him. If Iran wanted Hillary to be president would that reflect on her (I think it is a fairly safe assumption that they would rather have Hillary than Trump). If he was involved in influencing the election from outside the democratic process by leaking intel or providing avenues through which the Russian government could hack the DNC and personal emails then that would reflect on him. Outside of his direct involvement this is a Russia issue (and it seems pretty clear they were involved).

So then it becomes a President Trump issue, not an electoral college issue. Assuming this investigation continues to go down the path it has started, then Trump is going to have to make decisions on how to appropriately respond. If he does not respond appropriately then I will join the bandwagon. My guess is that he will NOT respond appropriately once president,but this isn't an election issue. It is a policy issue (unless Trump actually participated in the influencing scheme - if he did participate then it absolutely is an electoral college issue).

So I am good with the investigation and hope we are thorough. There is plenty of smoke. I would like to see the facts.

The ACTED to make him POTUS. They worked on his behalf. He even encouraged them to do so. How many of his policy makers need to have direct, personal and monetary tie with a foreign adversary before you say enough?

BTW, if ANY of Hillary's senior people had direct personal and financial ties to the ayatollahs of Iran, I'd say they couldn't be anywhere near WH or staff.
 
What liberals in the past 60 years supported Russia, DeacMan? That's a totally BS assertion. "Liberal" may not have see a commie under every bed, but the Dem Party and their leaders certainly didn't look well upon Russia. That's just gibberish.
 
Many people in this country (despite their miserable lives) believe they are better than others and blessed by God simply for being American. Sure you can believe this but to then apply that thinking globally is the opposite of what America has fought for through out the world.

For most, the root of American exceptionalism lies in the way the country was born. Self government. Economic freedom and self sufficiency. Opportunity to succeed regardless of station of birth.

There may be some that feel blessed by God, but I would say that most who believe in American exceptionalism view it as a result of the freedoms guaranteed by the constitution.
 
This entire episode just proves if you live long enough you will see the world turned on its ear. The most liberal among our population backing the CIA and wanting to call Russia into question?

The liberals have consistently been wrong about both the Soviet Union and Russia, namely by downplaying the threat posed by the former USSR and hyperventilating over Putin's Russia today. Dominated by their own ideological prejudices, the liberals are prevented from perceiving others - in this case the USSR and Russia - with any sort of clarity.
 
So the backer of Iran and Syria, invader of Georgia and Crimea and murdering dictator should be allowed to help pick a US POTUS.

I have to admit. sailor does prove me wrong almost on a weekly basis. Every time I think he can't say anything crazier or more FOS than his most recent post, he proves me wrong. Just like he did in the above post.
 
The liberals have consistently been wrong about both the Soviet Union and Russia, namely by downplaying the threat posed by the former USSR and hyperventilating over Putin's Russia today. Dominated by their own ideological prejudices, the liberals are prevented from perceiving others - in this case the USSR and Russia - with any sort of clarity.

How should liberals view them? You kidding yourself if you don't think your head would be exploding if Hillary had gone pro-Putin/Russia, told the CIA she didn't trust them, pissed off China, and stacked her cabinet with people with significant ties to the Russians. Limbaugh would have an on-air heart attack.
 
Is it really that next level? I don't believe Trump's campaign had any contact with Russia during the campaign because:

1. That would be Treason and no one on Trump's team except Trump strikes me as that brazen.
2. I don't think they are disciplined enough to get away with it.

OTOH, nothing would surprise me any more at this point. Trump doesn't seem to care about other bright line rules so why should we assume that he would never go this far.

Russian Officials Were in Contact With Trump Allies, Diplomat Says (11/10)
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/world/europe/trump-campaign-russia.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wa...e6-9bd6-184ab22d218e_story.html?client=safari

The statement came from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who said in an interview with the state-run Interfax news agency that “there were contacts” with the Trump team.

“Obviously, we know most of the people from his entourage,” Ryabkov said.

“We have just begun to consider ways of building dialogue with the future Donald Trump administration and channels we will be using for those purposes,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying.


In full disclosure apparently this isn't an uncommon thing during our elections but still noteworthy given what has happened.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-in-contact-with-trump-s-team-during-campaign

Russia said that it talked with the teams of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the U.S. presidential election as part of routine outreach during a campaign.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Russian embassy in the U.S. held talks with the Trump camp that “were on a sufficient, responsible level.” Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, said in an e-mail that she was “not aware” of any meetings by campaign representatives with Russian diplomats.

Ryabkov said the talks were “part of routine everyday work.” There was also “sporadic” contact with the Clinton team, though it was “not always productive,” he said. Calls to members of Clinton’s former campaign team for comment weren’t immediately returned.
 
I am still confused about how Russia wanting Trump to be president is any reflection on him. If Iran wanted Hillary to be president would that reflect on her (I think it is a fairly safe assumption that they would rather have Hillary than Trump). If he was involved in influencing the election from outside the democratic process by leaking intel or providing avenues through which the Russian government could hack the DNC and personal emails then that would reflect on him. Outside of his direct involvement this is a Russia issue (and it seems pretty clear they were involved).

So then it becomes a President Trump issue, not an electoral college issue. Assuming this investigation continues to go down the path it has started, then Trump is going to have to make decisions on how to appropriately respond. If he does not respond appropriately then I will join the bandwagon. My guess is that he will NOT respond appropriately once president,but this isn't an election issue. It is a policy issue (unless Trump actually participated in the influencing scheme - if he did participate then it absolutely is an electoral college issue).

So I am good with the investigation and hope we are thorough. There is plenty of smoke. I would like to see the facts.

You don't think it's relevant that Russia so strongly believes a Trump Presidency will be in Russia's best interests that they hacked at least one of the two major US parties, timed the leaking of the DNC hacks to impact the US election and orchestrated fake news to overstate the significance of the hacked emails?

Do you think America's interests are aligned with Putin's?

I don't want to overstate the Russian threat. I think even the Russians would agree that the biggest threats to American interests are internal. But I'd certainly rate Russia's ability to pursue their own interests at American expense than any actor in the Middle East (or perhaps all such actors combined).
 
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ya...iser-and-kremlin-175046002.html?client=safari

"U.S. intelligence officials are seeking to determine whether an American businessman identified by Donald Trump as one of his foreign policy advisers has opened up private communications with senior Russian officials — including talks about the possible lifting of economic sanctions if the Republican nominee becomes president, according to multiple sources who have been briefed on the issue."
 
This entire episode just proves if you live long enough you will see the world turned on its ear. The most conservative among our population backing Russia and wanting to call the CIA into question?

This is why your post is stupid.
 
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ya...iser-and-kremlin-175046002.html?client=safari

"U.S. intelligence officials are seeking to determine whether an American businessman identified by Donald Trump as one of his foreign policy advisers has opened up private communications with senior Russian officials — including talks about the possible lifting of economic sanctions if the Republican nominee becomes president, according to multiple sources who have been briefed on the issue."

https://www.google.com/amp/heatst.c...before-trump-tells-america/amp/?client=safari

He announced Tillerson as SOS days before Trump did.
 
I'm interested in Wrangor's ideas that a candidate's supporters don't necessarily reflect the candidate. This seems to be a new perspective.
 
How should liberals view them? You kidding yourself if you don't think your head would be exploding if Hillary had gone pro-Putin/Russia, told the CIA she didn't trust them, pissed off China, and stacked her cabinet with people with significant ties to the Russians. Limbaugh would have an on-air heart attack.

If they want to see them clearly, they will first have to discard their distorting ideological glasses.

(I couldn't care less about Limbaugh and his heart attack, nor should you. Even less should you try to understand Russia in terms of today's US domestic politics.)
 
What liberals in the past 60 years supported Russia, DeacMan? That's a totally BS assertion. "Liberal" may not have see a commie under every bed, but the Dem Party and their leaders certainly didn't look well upon Russia. That's just gibberish.

Yes, by far the more "world on its ear" thing here is the Republican President Elect and many in his party blowing off Russia as a non-issue.
 
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